Putting Out The Beacon
by Iandrodron
Summary: All the teams have fled Beacon Academy as team RWBY tries to defend it with their life. Team RWBY is pushed back into the school with only very little energy left. Why did the Grimm attack Beacon? Why are there so many of them? There is a darker force than Torchwick that the team has to worry about now.
1. Beacon Has Fallen

The battle for Beacon Academy continued with the Grimm being batted away by team RWBY. Countless amounts of Grimm were filling the grounds of the school faster than the team could kill them however. Exhausted, the team retreated to an upper floor where they could hide and restore their energy for more fighting.

"Guys... I think... we should let... the school fall." Ruby spoke in fragments as she gasped for breath. Blake and Yang remained silent, but the white princess spoke up and spoke harshly.

"Ruby, you are such a kid." She crossed her arms and held Myrtenaster in her left hand. "If we play our cards right, we... might have a chance." She spoke in her mind that it was a lie and there was no way to save the school. "If the school can not be saved however, then we should leave. Right now." She moved to one of the nearest windows and looked down at the Grimm swarming below them. She sighed heavily and turned to their team leader. Ruby looked at her an upsetting look and stood up.

"Weiss is right guys... we should leave." Ruby shuffled over to the window and stared down upon the Grimm. She shook her head and looked at Weiss with the look of help. "We need to distract them so we can leave!" She grabbed Weiss''s hands and clasped them between hers. "I have an idea, but you won't like it one bit." She then turned to Blake and Yang who was sitting closely together. "We are a team and we should look out for each other." Yang quickly stood up and moved over to her, giving her a strong neck hug.

"That's my little sister, taking charge!" Yang spoke happily and motioned Blake over. "That's the Ruby we all know and love."

Blake, who followed Yang's invitation, walked over to the other three girls and only smiled. "So what's the plan?"

Ruby held Crescent Rose behind her. "Do you remember what we did _before_ we were put into teams? With the entire jump thing?"

Blake spoke up in a curious tone. "Yeah, we used Gambol Shroud and Weiss's Glyphs to slingshot you to a Nevermore. Are you saying we try to do the same thing from somewhere at the school."

Ruby only nodded and pointed down at the courtyard towards the wall. "Remembering when Uncle Qrow and Winter fought there? There are gaps between it. We just have to execute it perfectly and swiftly." She smiled and stood in the window. "Getting down there is the easy part, but doing it is the hard part. Are you guys ready?" She smiled and changed Crescent Rose into it's scythe form. The rest of the team nodded and got prepared for anything that happened. Ruby then turned and jumped out of the window, straight towards their target. The rest of the team then followed suit and were right behind her. Using there weapons to maneuver through the flying Grimm. The flight down was faster than they had expect and all four landed in separate locations. Blake, who landed the closest, was already setting up Gambol Shroud for the slingshot. Yang was a little bit behind her and held on to the other in for when she was ready to launch. Weiss landed closer to the entrance of the school, but had no trouble fighting off the Grimm to get to Blake and Yang. Ruby, however, landed on the other side of the team. She gripped Crescent Rose tightly and used her semblance to attempt and fight through the massive horde of Grimm. One by one, Grimm fell before her as she neared closer and closer to her team. She was then halted when an Ursa struck at her from the side, sending her to the ground and onto her side. This didn't keep her down for long and she bolted straight for the team. Weiss used her glyphs to launch herself away from the school. Ruby, who was now badly injured, propped Crescent Rose just right and launched herself after Weiss. Yang's job was a little bit more difficult, as she had to launch both her and Blake.

"You might want to hold on tightly." Yang spoke with a sly smile on her face and shot multiple times to get full momentum, chasing after the other two.


	2. A Qrow In The Wind

Shooting off away from the school, they flew above the green trees below them as the slowly start to descend. One by one, with the exception of Blake and Yang, they hit the grassy floor and made sure they were all there. Exhausted from the fight and the escape, they decided to take a breather and relax before embarking onto their next location. Yang's survival instincts kicked in and decided to make a small fire to keep the team warm through out the night. Blake decided to help out the blonde fighter by collecting some burning material while Weiss eyed Ruby very carefully. She noticed that Ruby had her cloak covering her left side and that she was limping ever so slightly.

"Ruby. Can you take your cloak off for a minute?" Weiss spoke in a serious, but concerned tone. Ruby stared at her mouth with her mouth open, but no words came out. She then looked down and slowly removed the red cloak that was covering three gashes in her side from when the Ursa struck her. Weiss winced at the sight of it and moved towards her, kneeling beside her. "I don't think we have any bandages, but we are going to have to use your cloak until we get some help." Weiss started to tear at Ruby's cloak to make a make-shift bandage. She made a suitable size for the three gashes and started to wrap them around her. She bandaged up the one on her leg first as it was the one that had the most damage. She then patched up her arm, and then finally her side. "Next time, don't have your arm almost over your head so there are less gashes." She stood up and walked over to the fire that Yang and Blake are attempting to make. Ruby followed suit, but said nothing.

With Yang eventually starting the fire by using her Ember Celica and spoke to the team. "Where exactly are we going? We aren't in the best spot to be sitting around and with Ruby badly hurt, we aren't in the greatest condition either." She crossed her arms and leaned back against a stump of a tree. "I mean, we can try to go to one of the other academy's, but we have no idea where we are." She sighed heavily and shook her head. "Where's Qrow when you need him?" She closed her eyes and thought for a second.

Minutes pass and all that was heard was trees rustling and a crow cawing. The cawing got closer and it caused the team to be attentive. They looked towards the sound and anticipated a crow to fly by. The cawing stopped as a crow didn't fly by through the trees, but Qrow stared at them from where the crow should have been. "Hello there." He jumped down and casually walked over towards them with a smug smile. Yang quickly sprung up and ran over to him, embracing him tightly. Ruby would have done the same, but she couldn't in the condition she was in. Qrow quickly realized this and lost his smile. He took a quick drink and stuck a serious tone in his voice. "So Beacon has fallen it seems. At least you girls put up a damn good fight."

Ruby spoke quickly without much effort. "What about the other academy's? They'll help right?" Ruby was sure that the others would aid Beacon in fear of the threat spreading. Qrow so nothing and looked away from the team. Ruby started to freak out a little. "Uncle Qrow? The other academy's will help... right?" Uncle Qrow took another drink and turned to them again, saying something that struck fear into them.

"What other academy's?"


	3. A New Grimm

The girls blinked a few times and sat there in pure silence. The fire crackling was the only thing that filled the air with any slight noise at all. Qrow moved and sat next to Ruby, who then started to properly tend to her wounds. With a few yelps and a lot of jumping, her wounds were properly closed and bandaged up. The rest of the team wanted to ask questions, but didn't know what questions to ask. Qrow realized this and scratched his chin. "There's a new type of Grimm out there that was created by the military." He stared at them and began the explanation. "It was supposed to be a test to make Grimm that fought other Grimm so that the Hunters and Huntress wouldn't have to be called unless it was a dire emergency. It was called Subject 2 or as I have now started to call it, the Mindweaver." He took his finger and started to draw in the dirt. "What the Mindweaver does, it turns humans into Grimm or it could completely control the human and alter their memories in the process." He drew a crude picture of a creature that resembled a jellyfish mixed with a Beowulf. He stared at the girls and had a sarcastic smile on his face. "Questions?"

Weiss, Ruby, and Blake remained silent, thinking of the questions they asked. Yang however, had her questions picked out. "Can they can be turned back into humans? Is it possible to get their memories back to normal? Is it-" Qrow put a hand over her mouth quickly.

"I know the last question you are going to ask and it is yes. They can be killed. However... the answer to the other two is not a good one. You can possibly jog their memory back to the way it was, but it's going to take a lot of jogging. Turning someone back though... no. It's impossible. They become a Mindweaver themselves." He crossed his arms and stared at the group. "That's what happened to the other Academy's. They are busy fighting each other, or are Mindweaver's themselves."

Weiss stayed on the topic of changing the humans back into humans. "Well what if we experiment with them? Capture one and run tests on them and we are bound to find a way to change them back. It's so simple." Qrow only shook his head at the statement.

"They would change your memories in an instant. If you're close enough, they will do it. I've already had to kill one of them... and it was human changed." He took the remainder of his drink, and drank it in an instant. "And that person was the general. Old Ironwood let himself get changed and... I had to kill him." He pocketed his canteen and frowned. "Did I enjoy it? No. I hated every moment of it." He stood up and motioned the girls to follow him. Ruby, with the help of Yang, and her team stood up and followed him.

Qrow started to speak in a hushed tone and kept his wits about him. "There's a refuge camp about a day away from here. We can get you girls there and have them take care of you. Plus, there's a few people who are waiting for you there. Another team from the school."

Ruby's eyes grew a bit and she smiled her heartly smile. "Team JNPR... alright, yeah. I say we should go there. Anyone against it?" Ruby looked at the other three who shook their heads no which sealed the deal. They would be going to the refuge camp. She nodded towards Qrow and he only smiled.

"You girls never change do you?" Qrow started to lead the girls north, away from Beacon Academy.

Meanwhile...

"Has Beacon Academy fallen?" A female spoke in a dark tone, towards a cowering human before a large throne. The small boy looked up at the female and nodded. "Was everyone killed?" The boy was hesitant but shook his head no. The female frowned at this gesture and slowly stood up and walked towards him. "You know... I said to make sure everyone was dead." She drew her blade, Tiamor, and stood in front of the boy. "Stand up... no need to be afraid." The young boy nodded as if to say 'Of course' and stood up quickly. She circled him and placed an arm around him. "I'm disappointed... you were doing so well too." She started to trace her finger on his cheek as she smiled. "You were always a liability... I'm sorry it had to come down to this." In one swift movement she spun her blade towards his neck, decapitating him in an instant. She then kicked the body, but caught the head. "To think... an adorable boy like you could have failed me. I morphed from that wretched being. Subject 2 took my place! I was the original, Subject 1!" She then squeezed the boys head and crushed it in between her hands, blood dripping everywhere. She sighed and turned to her throne. "No matter... I control the Mindweavers now."


	4. An Infected Member

The group of five walked in a hushed silence for a few hours, with the sun piercing the heavens. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and on days like this the group would be stuck in class. Other than Weiss, the girls were glad to not be in class, but that doesn't mean they don't get a break. Qrow made sure that they would get at least a little bit of knowledge into their brains about the Mindweaver's that are running around, causing chaos and hell through out The World of Remnant. "You'll definitely be able to spot one from a distant. They don't ever touch the ground, they just float around and are just a giant brain floating around basically." He looked at his canteen and sighed. He should have packed more alcohol for his trip.

Blake kept her ears at the ready, listening for anything that could be a threat and potentially kill them. "Better safe than sorry as I usually say."

Yang, who was now princess carrying Ruby, was listening to Qrow very closely. "So just look for a giant brain with tentacles under it? This sounds like some messed up TV show." She laughed slightly and looked towards Weiss.

Weiss walked in silence, glancing over at Ruby every now and then. "Are you sure her wounds are okay? It won't get infected will it?" She picked up the pace and stood in front of him. "I'm not doubting your abilities, but are you positive she will be fine?"

Qrow opened his mouth to speak, but shut it just as fast. He wanted to give her the answer she wanted, but he couldn't lie to her at the same time. "I'm not sure she'll be fine. The wounds were pretty bad and I didn't have any major medical supplies on me." He crossed his arms and looked down. He stood there for a little bit until he heard Ruby groan. He walked over to her and Yang and put a hand on her forehead. Qrow cursed under his breath and looked at Yang dead in the eyes. "She's burning up badly and it's probably going to get worse. We can make it to the refuge camp if we haul ass and don't encounter any Grimm." For quick measures, he put his blade up behind him and turned in the direction of the camp. "If we don't stop running, we can get there in an hour or two. The faster the better." With that, he was the first to shoot off. Yang moved Ruby to her back and took off after her uncle. Blake and Weiss followed suit and bolted after the trio. Jumping from tree to tree was Qrow's, Blake's, and Weiss's quick moving, while Yang bust through any trees that stood in her way. Other than aged Grimm who grew to not engage onto humans, there were no Grimm in sight. Qrow's estimate was close to being right though. It took almost an hour to reach the camp. With Yang's tree smashing however, they were all heavily on guard. It was then that another team leader from Beacon Academy approached them.

Jaune Arc ran up to them with a smile on his face, but quickly lost it when he saw Ruby's condition. He called for medical help and the rest of the team came to aid her. It was Nora and Ren who took Ruby and ran her inside the camp to be cared for. Pyrrha turned to them and sighed a giant sigh of relief. "I'm glad you are all alright." She forced a smile on her face and attempted to brighten the mood. Jaune spoke in a quiet tone and looked at them. "What happened to her?" Qrow, who was also wondering what happened, turned to the other three girls. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but Blake took the floor. "She was being a leader. She came up with a plan to get us out of Beacon Academy safely, but some placements went wrong. She wound up on the opposite area where we were and she had to fight her way out. She was almost free, but that was when an Ursa caught her on her right side. We didn't know about it until she was limping and hiding it with her cloak." She spoke with a straight face, but a distressed one at the same time. Qrow spoke up next. "That's when I found them. I saw smoke, so I flew over there to see what it was. Turns out, I found team RWBY not far from the refuge camp." He smiled and looked over at the camp. He saw Ren walking alone and towards the team. He braced himself for the worst and stood there in silence. Ren stopped in front of the group of six and sighed. "She has a really high fever. I'm going to assume you all knew about her wounds that was made recently. It wasn't treated properly and it got heavily infected. We can cure it however, but she'll be out for a few weeks." He crossed his arms and smiled lightly. "It's good to see you are all okay though." With that, he turned and headed back to tend to Ruby.

The rest of team RWBY made themselves at home and saw that team JNPR was the only team from Beacon Academy at the camp. They tended to camp affairs and beat away the occasional young Grimm. They made sure to check up on Ruby from time to time, but her healing was going too slow for them. Yang, Blake, and Weiss were exhausted to no end from all the work the put in towards the camp. "It's getting late guys. How about we retire for the night, yeah?" Yang brought up the idea and Blake agreed. Weiss had other plans however. "You two go ahead. I'll find you guys later. I have something I need to do with Ruby real quick." The duo nodded and went off to their tent, leaving Weiss to go to the infirmary tent to see Ruby. She moved in the tent and found it empty, besides Ruby of course. Weiss moved over to her and sat next to her on the bed that was set up. She looked at Ruby's red face from her fever and felt herself starting to tear up. She balled her hands up and clenched her teeth together. "Why...? Why damn it?!" She allowed her tears to flow from her face as she closed her eyes. "Why did you have to be... such a child... why did you get yourself hurt to protect us?" She opened her eyes as she looked around to see if anyone was watching or listening in. After she confirmed that no one was around them, she leaned and lightly kissed Ruby's cheek. She stood up and walked towards the exit, but stopping for a minute. "Ruby... I need you to get better... I love you..." With that, Weiss left the tent to return to her own.


	5. A Broken Mind

**Editor's Message: My computer keeps resetting and it died last week so I fixed it and now I'm in a rush to type this chapter up again before it resets. I hope you guys love it~!**

Weiss beat and battered her assailant back. The assailant grunted lightly and gripped her scythe tightly. With a quick motion, the scythe wielder swung a horizontal swing at Weiss. Weiss however parried it and countered with her own attacking blow. The assailant fell to the ground and was pinned by Weiss's foot. With a quick few swings, Weiss cut the concealing hood. Hoping to find the one behind the schemes, she jumps back and falls to the ground herself as she looks at Ruby Rose's face. Ruby stood up and picked Crescent Rose up with her. She slowly walked towards the backing away Weiss. "Weiss... why did you let me get sick? Why weren't you there when I needed you? Let me give you the pain that I've been dealt..." Ruby got close and swung at Weiss's neck.

Weiss jolted up with a screeching scream. She panted heavily and let the sweat fall down her. She put a hand against her neck and shook her head. It was then that Yang and Blake showed up in the tent. Yang knelt down beside as Blake watched outside the tent. "Weiss? Are you okay? What happened?" Yang put a hand against Weiss's face and looked at her in concern.

"Ruby... is she okay? Will she be okay?" Weiss stared at Yang with small tears in her eyes. Yang only smiled and held up one finger as if to motion to give her a moment. Yang stepped out, leaving Blake and Weiss alone. Blake sighed and sat next to Weiss. "You need to talk to someone or your mind is going to kill you. What's happening?"Weiss sighed heavily and lightly clasped her hands together.

"Do you think that Ruby would be in the situation she is in if I was closer to her? I could have took the blow myself." She brought her knees up to her chest and looked down. "I just think she would have been better if I was the one hit. What good are we as a team without our leader?" She sighed heavily and looked towards Blake, who now had a smile on her face.

"I think that she would have wanted to take the blow if you were closer to her. She wants to make sure that we are all protected and that she does her best in front of use. She is being a leader and before we found out she was badly wounded, she did keep her composure. Now if she would have told us sooner, it may have still not been helped that she fell really ill." She hugged Weiss lightly with one arm and put her free hand on Weiss's hand. "I'm pretty sure she is feeling a lot better now." Weiss opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a more than usual energetic Ruby. Ruby was then followed by Yang who joined them and Blake followed a lighter suit by leaning on the pile. Normally Weiss would have been disgusted, but she was more than happy to see her leader back up and running.

Ruby squirmed out of the pile and stood up. She smiled and opened her mouth to speak. Unlike Weiss's cut off, Ruby's cut off was made by a screaming man. The group ran out to see what the commotion was only to see a creature tangle the man in it's tentacle like arms, turning him into a Mindweaver.


	6. Update

**This is just a filler chapter to let you guys know what's been going on. I haven't really been doing much other than getting ready for an upcoming convention in Jackson, MS. I know I should update soon, but I hit writer's block hella hard and I'm trying to to figure out where to pick up from there. I will let you guys know that the Mindweaver in the camp does do some stuff and it's gonna be a fight. You guys could have guessed that. Welp, until next time!**


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